Essays by the activist poet (Civil Wars, 1981, etc.) that offer moments of insight or interpretation but are best for fellow progressives. Jordan (African-American Studies/UC at Berkeley) articulates positions, confronts ambiguities, rallies the troops, salves wounds. In these pieces (most from 1986-92, many from The Progressive), Jordan tries to reconcile art and racial, (bi)sexual, and feminist political commitments. Strikingly, it is never Jordan's own identity being questioned, sought, and defined but, rather, America's. The author pays tribute to her Jamaican immigrant parents—true believers in the American Dream—and to the thriving black Brooklyn community where she grew up (described in the press—to her bemusement—as ``breeding grounds of despair''). There are civics lessons about the Constitution and the Bill of Rights (showing how African-Americans and women only gradually- -through popular pressure—gained rights); a powerful exploration of the American idealization of individuality and of the artist's quest for obligation-free solitude (showing how these attitudes, which Jordan says deny collective responsibility, lead to personal and societal tragedy). Jordan fights back against sociopolitical attacks on black mothers; speaks up for Palestinian rights; celebrates Martin Luther King while affirming the leadership capacities ``within each one of us''; can't forgive Mike Tyson for rape yet mourns his downfall and the society he grew in. She calls for multicultural education; turns to Shakespeare for solace; decries the p.c. debate as a red herring while the scandalous deficiencies of community colleges go ignored. Her account of how Jesse Jackson's 1988 candidacy was scuttled tells truths while being unduly selective. Moving, inspiring at best; mildly informative but too often sketchy.
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1992
ISBN: 0-679-40625-5
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Pantheon
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1992
BOOK REVIEW
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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